Over the last 7 years I've developed so many products, each one designed to help make my life easier! Every single product we make has been tested in rigorous labs tests, otherwise known as my home.
You got a love a tablecloth that is water-resistant, wipes clean and looks great for years. This tablecloth has been on and off my table for years now and it still looks like new. You can't say that about most tablecloths, can you?
I used one of our new 56" straight cut runners made of chalk cloth for our annual chili night toppings bar. Spooky descriptions are optional -- as our kids have gotten older the names of the food has gotten grosser. Yuck!! We can't have a party with out chalk cloth.
Let me just start by saying that I have very cool friends! Last weekend my friend, Kimmy from Richmond's Globe Hopper, traveled to Atlanta to attend The Southeast Regional Barista Competition. How exciting is that? Kimmy and her sweet family are a frequent guests of our annual Halloween parties and she has been coveting a Modern June Chalk Cloth Table Runners for a while now. I love that she found such a unique use for it. How great is it that she used it in the competition? What a rock star!!!
We had a blast last night hosting our annual Halloween Trick or Treat Party. The entire family agrees that this is our most favorite gathering of the year. The chili pot is on, the snacks are spooky and the company is always entertaining.
This year I broke out a Modern June Chalk Cloth Table Toppers for myself. You know I have to test all my products, I simply can't make something I don't want to use, and use often. I was really surprised that I didn't have one of these bad boys before yesterday. I have to say it fit perfectly on my island, it almost seems like I planned it that way.
Chalk cloth is a holiday hit, check out all the other hostess-have-to haves at our Modern June Etsy Shop and plan you next party with us!
At Wednesday's Park Day all the moms made sweets for the kids Halloween Parade, there were so many yummy treats but this one I had to try out for myself! Check out these cute little witch hat cookies. They are so quick and easy, just melt the kisses in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and then adhere them to the cookies. Cute, easy and delish!
I have been wanting to make these for over a year now! Finally I had to do it, I had to make one for my upcoming Halloween Bash! So, while I was at is I whipped up a few more to sell, you get to choose your trim for this fantastic Holiday Table Runner. Green, red, black or orange!
The are great for special occasions and every day fun. I can see us using this for school too! Think of how great this would be forcookie exchanges, buffets or a drink bar. I really want to have a grown up dinner party and use it as centerpiece my guests doodling through dinner would be a blast! I tell you the possibilities are endless!
The runner is 14 inches wide, so there is plenty of room to scribble on! This listing is for a medium sized table up to 72 inches long. Need it bigger for the holiday dinner just ask for quote!
Did you hear the news? Our sister store, Oilcloth Addict, is giving away the farm. We want to know your favorite oilcloth and in return we are giving a lucky winner a yard of oilcloth. To enter just check out the OCA Monday Madness blog post!!!! I am so excited about the new weekly OCA feature that I think we should celebrate with our first monthly Modern June Monday Madness too! Let's get this started, shall we?
Our first Modern June Monday Madness is a free Halloween Banner! To enter just leave a comment telling us your favorite Modern June Product is! Hurry, deadline is Monday Midnight, EST! Check back on Tuesday to see if you are the big winner!
I can't bear it, I missed another Quilt Market. I know, I know I don't - and never will - quilt but I do love me some pretty fabric! I've made myself a promise to get to a Quilt Market. So for now I am checking all the sweet tweets on the subject, and may oh my we are talking serious eye candy!
My new go to blog, Stop Staring and Start Sewing, has some rocking photos! I "borrowed" her picture of the luscious Heather Bailey booth. I am so crushing on the new line of hers! Hmmm, I might just need some of that for the spring line! Ahhh, it's not even Halloween and I am dreaming of spring. Crazy.
Want to know how to make a small circular tablecloth? Check out my Oilcloth Addict blog for the 411. Want me to make one for you? Not a problem, Modern June custom makes oilcloth tablecloths in every shape and size! Either way your good to go! Order now for Halloween!
Even though I had a really wonderful day I am a big cranky butt tonight. I am really tired but wide awake. I am ready for a big project but not willing to get started yet. I know the what the project is, my pantry from hell. What a complete mess. Junk, tea towels, aprons galore, household cleaners and a bunch of Costco bulk shopping is just thrown in. It's a "Quick shut that door before something falls out!" kind of pantry.
I have a ton of great DYI projects for this pantry so stick around this week while I get that pantry in order. I will be blogging about it daily and linking to my OILCLOTH ADDICT blog where you will be able to check out tutorials for each project.
Stuff I need to find: Lazy Susan Wire Baskets lots of oilcloth a bit of chalk cloth lots of jars
Just a few of the totally ridiculous items currentlyin this pantry: Fish Food, we have no fish! Turkey roasting bags, 8 years old? Wax for canning, why? Easter Grass, from last year! Halloween chocolate kit. Christmas Gingerbread House kit. Rock tumbler that doesn't work! Science project from 3 years ago. 5 lunch boxes, we homeschool! A tin full of VERY out dates herbal remedies. Empty tin cans, WTH? Empty sea monkey house, oh yeah, my favorite!
Here are four paper items that I have loads of luv for!
Aren't these totally cool and oh so Modern June. They are perfect! zou zou's basement makes great greeting cards and much much more!
Banners, you know I love me some banners! These will be great for those times someone is sending a Modern June goodie straight to a friend! I love to gift wrap and having the perfect card to key!
Paper craft is one of my families most entertaining thing to do, we like to listen to an audio book and cut and create! These are from paper box. I can't wait to my a my own mini-obama-fig, yah for change!
And this little piece of magazine love is tucked away for my next day off! I am going to curl up with a nice cup of coco, my Grr's crazy quilt and read this from cover to cover on Thanksgiving day. The December issue is my favorite one of the year, well, maybe the Halloween issues ties with the Christmas issue! Oh, I wish it were Turkey day today!
OMG, I AM TOTALLY SLAMMED! Life is so busy isn't it? Between the kids hating school with a vengeance (STRESS) and a show and two wholesale orders next week I am dying! I was so tired yesterday that I had to take a nap while our son was in occupation therapy for an hour. Maddie sat there torturing me! Calgon take me away!
And I forgot to list a "product of the day" yesterday so today we get to have two! LOVE THEM! Here is what the kids did with the Chalk Cloth Runner for our Halloween gathering. I have to say this chalk cloth is rockin'!
Check out the new chalk cloth chargers-centerpiece-placemat! I am totally in love with the possibilities! It makes me want to have 40 parties just so I can play with them! Just think about it dinner parties, buffets, kids birthday parties. Fun stuff.
Use this as a centerpiece to mark you wine selection. Things look great in threes this would be wonderful lined up on a buffet table...one for wine, another for cheese, and the third for sweeties.
I can't wait to use them a silly chargers (BIG placemat). You could put everyones name on them and use it as a place card, then after dinner give your guests a pack of multi colored chalk and watch out for the after dinner fun!
Remember order today's "Product of the day" and receive a free gift! Hey, a charger makes a great free gift! hmmmmm...... I'm always thinking!
You all have to go check out Artsy Mama for some Halloween goodness. She has recently added the Modern June Halloween Banners to her wonderful list of favorite banners. I am honored! Her site is full of great ideas for the spookiest holiday, so go and have some fun. I know I'm inspired--I still need to deck the halls a bit more! Don't worry I'll post pics!
Every year we head up to the Ashland Berry Farm for our annual hayride and pumpkin picking. This year was a bumper crop, the drought seemed to have missed their fields completely.
At the farm you can buy all the pumpkins you can carry for $20.00. Every year we go out into the fields and pick out the best pumpkins we can find. Each member of the family gets at least one big pumpkin. I found a gorgeous white pumpkin, still on the vine. Once back from the fields we pile all the pumpkins into Don's arms -- this year he got four big pumpkins, three wee ones, and and a load of gourds for the three step test. Maddie's pumpkin fell off (trying to escape), and rolled off, losing its stem in the process and ended up in a mud puddle. Maddie was left in her own puddle of tears. A staff member surprised her by getting her a similar one, making sure it had a great long stem.
I love this time of year, everything is changing and cooling off. Every year this trip is like walking through the door into the best season, for us the holiday season has just started. From now until New Years Day we will be gleeful with one holiday spirit or another!
Modern June is the home of the original oilcloth banners! We are excited to say we have a few halloween banners to sell on the Etsy site. We had sold out at the Crafty Bastard Show, but don't worry we squeaked out two more! Grab them while you can!
We also are announcing our Christmas Banners, now in small and large. The smaller size has been such a hit at craft shows I decided to sell them on-line as well. Here is the longer banner, look how big it is! Now that is a lot of fun!!!
Can I just say I love this show! What is not to love about a craft show called Crafty Bastards. I love it a lot! Despite bad weather we made out great, did some good shopping and met tons of great peeps. My best show yet!
The top selling item had to be the Modern JuneOilcloth Banners. I tell you we just can't make enough of them! Holiday Banners are coming to my Modern June Etsy shop soon, so keep your eyes open for those to be listed soon. I hope to have a few more Halloween banners ASAP. Jennifer is busy cutting the super fab ORANGE LACE oilcloth now. I sold out of the Christmas and Halloween banners this weekend. But don't fret, April has a dozen in the works, 6 are spoken for already (Feathernesters) but there will be plenty to go around!
Trust me there will be loads of goodies for everyone.
What to blog about today? This blogging everyday is hard. I won't bore you with my "super productive day" details. Instead, I will show you some photos from yesterday's day off! I was a real housewife, through and through. Shoot... I had to be, my house was a disaster and we were in code RED laundry crisis!
Watch it now! This is a picture for the flickr group Apron Outfits -- you take a shoot of yourself wearing an apron. Dress-up for grown-ups! You'll find some super fun photos and the best aprons around! And damn if that door isn't covered in finger prints already!!!!
Fall Ledges -- this is really new for me, but I like the colors. Heck, I'm glad I finally took down Halloween. After I took this pic, I bought a few more gourds at Azalea Garden Center to add a bit more orange and yellow. I would love to have some more green pillar candles too. But, I am trying to "use what I have." Another great flickr group!
My Grandma and Granddad brought Irish Cottage music boxes back from Ireland way too many years ago. They must have bought 20 at least -- one for everyone in the family. I finally got mine about two years ago! And it makes me so happy! I miss my Grr and Granddad!
Like my fire in the fireplace? They are twinkle lights. Dorky but fun! I love the vintage suitcase as a side table. Right after I bought this great suitcase, Aidan changed the code on the lock before i could write it down, so now we can never get inside the silly thing. On top is Maddie's first embroidery project!
Maddie had fun with the camera at the garden shop. Oh man, I love me some Johnny jump ups!
I am off to watch the new season of Project Runway! Have fun.
Grave Yard cake, this is an oldie but goodie. Christi said we needed gummy worms in the cake. I forgot we did that one year. I have to remember the worms! What was I thinking? Maddie and Aidan decorated the tombstones this year, I love them!
Once the tombstones were finished the fun continued. This is Aidan's creation.
Maddie was great and made tags for all the food. We had Monster Muffins (corn muffins), Zombie Knuckles (chicken nuggets), Ghoulish Gruel (chili), and Dead Man Crackers just to name a few things on our party menu. I love Maddie's curly handwriting. I wish this photo came out better, I thought the red cabbage bowls were great! Everyone liked them.
Don carved some awesome pumpkins!
We had a big crowd again this year, about 7 families! We have had a Halloween party every year since M. was 3. It started out as pumpkin carving parties. That was insane, and only lasted two years. We have the best neighborhood for trick-or-treating, so we invite all our buddies that live in the country or families that don't have great trick-or-treat hoods. We always have chili and we always have beer! Some of the mamma's hang out with me on the porch and have some laughs! This year was no different. There were some missing people this year, The G family, the V. family and the Josie family were very, very missed! Why'd ya have to leave us?
I hope you all had some spookyness this All Hallows Eve! I need a mystery to read tonight while cozy in bed!
I wish I a copy of The Raven! I should take the kids to our Edgar Allen Poe House! Ha! I found it on the EAP house site! Sweet, it is printing and I am off to my warm comfy bed!
Ok this is weird, I am holiday confused. One minute I am working out last minute Holloween costumes issues and picking out the perfect pumpkin and the next I am surrounded in Xmas holiday fabric. I am so confused! : )
I love the sign, made with loads of love! Maddie spent hours on this!
Pumpkin shaped pancakes! Yum! Janet sent me this link for halloween foods. I didn't make pumpkin flavored pancakes but I did use the idea for the shape! Maybe next week I will try the spicy pumpkin pancakes!
But the best part was this!
We treated Don to an afternoon at the Movies! The Nightmare Before Christmas!!! It's back and its in 3D. Maddie and I sat there singing the entire show. Can you tell this Movie is a family favorite! We even own the soundtrack!
This cracks me up. It looks like a pagan ritual! But really it is birthday brownies! Not at all homemade but very, very yummy! I think they were much better than my recipe! I need better recipe of brownies, any one have one?
UPDATE! keep the recipes coming and I will post them! Kimmy if you read this I need the no pudge brownies!
Here is Christie's favorite brownie recipe!
BROWNIES
From Cooks’ Illustrated
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped medium (optional) 1¼ cups white flour ½ tsp salt ¾ tsp baking powder 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate 12 Tbsp (1½ sticks) unsalted butter 2¼ cups sugar 4 large eggs 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325.
Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler. When smooth, remove from heat and whisk in sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking until thoroughly combined.
Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder. Add to chocolate mixture in 3 additions, stirring until batter is smooth.
This year I broke out a Modern June Chalk Cloth Table Toppers for myself. You know I have to test all my products, I simply can't make something I don't want to use, and use often. I was really surprised that I didn't have one of these bad boys before yesterday. I have to say it fit perfectly on my island, it almost seems like I planned it that way.
Chalk cloth is a holiday hit, check out all the other hostess-have-to haves at our Modern June Etsy Shop and plan you next party with us!